'We don't make the engines, but we do everything else'

Business doesn’t usually walk in on a Friday at 3 p.m. to order a trailer that costs in the neighborhood of a half-million dollars.

But that’s what happened at the offices of Philippi-Hagenbuch, Inc., 7424 W. Plank Road, a company that co-founder LeRoy Hagenbuch describes as “a custom shop for off-highway trucks.”

“The gentleman was from Mexico, and I happened to be here,” recalled Hagenbuch of the visitor who, four years ago, came looking for a specially-designed salt truck.

“We drew something up that met the needs of the company,” said Hagenbuch, referring to Las Coloradas, a Mexican firm that supplies one-third of Mexico’s consumption of salt each year, a quantity of 500,000 tons.

This week, Philippi-Hagenbuch will send its third salt truck down to Mexico. The 80-foot-long trailer-truck will be used in the mining of sea salt on the company’s 24,000-acre site on the Yucatan Peninsula.

Philippi-Hagenbuch has operated in Peoria since 1969, when L.B. “Phil” Philippi, who died in 1977, and Hagenbuch started the firm.

The first product offered was Philippi’s “Autogate” tailgate later refined by Hagenbuch, who remains the firm’s chief engineer and continues to lead research and design efforts.

Several years later, the company entered the body-building market with its unique “HiVol” body design. Innovation remains a strong suit at a firm that has racked up almost 100 patents and carries the slogan, “Helping You Move Mountains.”

Moving those mountains involves a wide variety of industries from mining and construction industries to steel mills, landfills and oil refineries for the family business that has steadily expanded over the years.

Now with 35 employees, Philippi-Hagenbuch is led by Danette Swank, Hagenbuch’s daughter, who serves as president while husband, Josh Swank, serves as VP of sales and marketing.

“We don’t make the engines, but we do everything else. We’re a solutions-based company. We serve customers who say, ‘I want to do this but I don’t know how to get there,’” said Danette Swank, who’s worked for the firm for 16 years. “Everything we do is on the back side.”

The company specializes in truck bodies, tailgates, water tanks and trailers, she said.

The company moved to its Plank Road location in 1979, setting up an office for engineering and design work along with a separate fabrication facility. “We start with a flat plate of steel. All the processes we need are here,” said Hagenbuch.

At the 50-acre Plank Road site, there’s plenty of room for growth, he said. In fact, the company recently provided 5 acres of that land for the Limestone Fire Department that breaks ground on a new fire station later this month.

Special orders remain the heart of the Philippi-Hagenbuch business plan. The salt truck headed to Mexico is a case in point, said Steve Linnemann, the plant superintendent who’s worked for the company for 30 years.

“We put in a stainless steel lining to arrest corrosion from all the salt. There were other touches, as well. There was quite a bit of engineering and fabrication involved,” he said.

Steve Tarter is Journal Star business editor. Tarter’s phone number is 686-3260, and his email address is starter@pjstar.com. Follow his blog, Minding Business, on pjstar.com and follow him on Twitter @SteveTarter